Lessons Learned
by ZombieBlinky
Summary: Sometimes the lessons about life are the hardest ones to learn. Hints of AxY Response fic to Hikari-and-Yami's Russian Roulette


_**Retaliation fic off the starboard side! **_

_**Yes, this is a retaliation fic to Hikari-and-Yami's story, **__Russian Roulette__**. **_

_**Could I help myself? No I really couldn't. I'm not sure I really like how it turned out, but I thought it ended rather interesting. I'm not good at writing anything even remotely serious, so this is a surprise for me.**_

_**You should give the fic a looksie! **_

--::--

The sound of the empty chamber clicking echoed like the promise of a dead man in the blood stained room.

Shivering, I set the gun back down on the table feeling nausea follow a relief that was so potent I nearly cry. I'm still alive. I'm still breathing.

I embrace the sick feelings flooding through my body just like the adrenaline that left me feeling weak. It meant I was still alive. I wasn't one more to add to the growing body count.

Why am I doing this? Did I really need the money that badly?

I look up to see those ruby eyes boring into mine with the experience and familiarity of someone who has staked their life on more than just a game of Russian Roulette before. Those were the eyes of someone who never loses. Intense and fiery, and they burned me down to the core of my being.

I knew now just how fragile a life was. Just how precious.

And just how foolish it was to wager it on a game of chance.

What was the point of living off of money that had been stained with the greedy blood of those who had come before me?

My heart stops.

What have I _become_ to resort to this?

A tan hand reached down to pick the gun up from the smooth table and my breath stops in my chest. Ruby eyes never leave mine as those skillful hands pick up the gun and spin the chamber with expert ease. He places the barrel against his temple, his eyes never leaving mine.

I can practically see the tendons underneath his tan skin flex as he prepares to pull the trigger.

Without my consent, my body springs forward over the table, catching the man's arm and dragging it away just as he pulls the trigger. The shot rings out and the bullet goes ricocheting off into the room, landing God knows where.

A near miss. I can hear the sizzle where the hot bullet pierced through the thick air.

I'm lay there on the table, holding the man's tan wrist in my hand. A near death grip. I can feel his pulse beating strong in his veins. No doubt fear and adrenaline caused it to beat that fast, but thankfully that told me he was alive.

Knowing that he too was afraid was somehow comforting. I had almost believed for a second that this man could feel nothing behind those fearless ruby eyes. It was all just a mask though. His heart rate couldn't be faked or hidden.

Stunned ruby eyes turn towards me, silently asking me why I stopped him. I had won the game. I had been so close to victory and yet I give it up just to stop him?

"Enough," I rasp, coughing slightly around the tightness in my throat, "The game isn't worth it."

I look up as he slides his hand out from under mind. He looks at me with the calm of someone who hadn't just come millimeters with death.

"Isn't it?" His cool baritone demands quietly, catching my attention. He sits with all the grace and regality of a king, and I think what a pity it would have been if this gorgeous man's life had been forfeited, "You pulled the trigger first." He reminded me.

I shook my head.

"I did," My throat closes up and a strangled noise comes out instead. I flush and try to regain my composure, "But it's not worth it anymore.

"Sometimes it's better to know when to stop," I can't go on. Instead I stand up from my half-hazard spill across the table and swallow hard.

"Take the money. I don't care anymore," I turn to leave, with every intention to never look back or return.

A hand on my arm stopped me and I turned around, seeing those flaming eyes so close to me that I can see myself reflected in their fiery depths. Why has he stopped me? My breath catches and I almost miss what he says.

"This victory doesn't belong to me," The man with the eyes of the devil says smoothly. My eyes widen as he strides past me and towards the door. "The game between us has only just begun Little One – I will not forget my loss easily."

He smirks, flashing me a row of white teeth that glint in the dim light.

"I'll see you again... Yuugi."

The value of life is a hard lesson to learn. But learn it I did. In the process, I gained more than I could have ever dreamed possible.

The money to comfortably support my family for the rest of their lives, and a mysterious man who would occasionally call me out to play a 'game' with him.

My personal stalker, Atemu.

--::--

_**Uhhh, yeah. Weird ending. I know. **_

_**I have no idea where this came from, but I hope you guys liked it, crazy and nonsensical as it was!**_

_**Drop me a line to tell me what you think!**_

_**ZB**_


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